Chapter 14: Each with their own thoughts

In less than half a day, the fountain had been restored to its former glory under Ailiya’s care. Even the intricate textures on the stone carvings were now clearly visible.

Meanwhile, translucent system notifications popped up one after another at the edge of her vision.

**[Task Finished]**

**[Rating: Perfect]**

**[Completion: Clean the fountain and statues of the Kastian manor]**

**[Total Experience Points Gained: 410]**

**[Sub-class: Maid Level 3 → Level 4]**

**[Warlock Experience: +10]**

**[Professional Ability: Chores Level 3 → Level 4]**

**[Professional Ability: Handicraft Experience: +50]**

**[Constitution: +1]**

As she finished cleaning, Ailiya looked at her steadily rising attributes and experience bars on the panel, and her mood couldn’t help but brighten.

In particular, the professional ability “Handicraft” had a very broad range of applications. It covered almost all life-related occupations and could even overlap with certain combat professions.

In other words, as long as she did some odd jobs, she could always scrape together some experience points.

‘This is exactly why I chose to be both a Maid and a Blacksmith. It’s the perfect infinite leveling engine.’

After putting away her tools, Ailiya’s slender figure lightly left the fountain area.

Though her spirits had lifted, to an outsider, it only looked as if a faint shadow of a smile had touched her otherwise plain face.

It wasn’t until her figure completely disappeared around the corner that Leo, in his room upstairs, reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the window.

“Young Master, are you still looking? She’s already out of sight,” Ian said lazily from behind him.

As if his tail had been stepped on, Leo immediately turned around to retort, “Weren’t you peeking through the window too? What’s the matter, is today’s lesson over? Are you so bored that you’ve started talking nonsense?”

Ian pushed the glasses up the bridge of his nose and pulled over a chair to sit down. “I’m just a bit curious. It’s hard for me to understand people like her.”

Leo frowned. “What do you mean?”

Instead of answering, Ian asked a question, his eyes showing a hint of seriousness. “After watching for so long, don’t you think her methods for cleaning the fountain were quite impressive?”

“Yes.”

“And at the same time, you’re wondering why someone so capable would come here to work as a lowly maid, right?”

Leo nodded.

Ian spoke slowly. “People who know even a little bit of magic rarely humble themselves to choose such menial work. Even though it earns money, it isn’t considered respectable in the eyes of the world.”

“It’s only the high nobility in the Royal Capital who spend large sums of money to train people with magical abilities to serve as maids. It’s quite a twisted sense of humor.”

Leo curled his lip. “So, stop beating around the bush and just say what you want to say.”

Ian chuckled. “Don’t be in such a hurry. Why don’t we consider this an after-class interest lecture to relax a bit?”

Leo gave a reluctant nod. He dragged a chair over and straddled it, resting his arms on the back of the chair in a careless manner.

Ian continued, “What she performed just now was the most basic of universal magics: Mana Infusion. However, very few people choose to specialize in this spell.”

“The vast majority of casters only learn the basics and treat it as nothing more than a simple teaching example because its utility and returns are simply too low. But not only did she achieve precise control, she also used chantless casting.”

“Chantless casting?” Leo was stunned for a moment. “That sounds high-level.”

Ian didn’t explain immediately. Instead, he gave a light laugh and snapped his fingers.

With a soft *snap*, a small ball of orange-red fire appeared out of thin air in his palm, burning quietly.

Leo couldn’t help but cry out in surprise, “Fireball Art! How did you do that? You didn’t even say an incantation. Is that chantless casting?”

Ian teased him mercilessly, “If it were you casting this Fireball Art, Young Master Leo, you’d probably be straining yourself on the spot for ages, only to end up producing a bit of soot.”

Leo’s face flushed as he muttered, “Hey, hey! Don’t poke at my weaknesses. Just explain it properly.”

Ian waved his hand, and the flame at his fingertip extinguished. He cleared his throat.

“Ahem. Strictly speaking, what I did just now cannot be considered true chantless casting. I merely omitted some of the long incantations and circuit constructions.”

“This is called ‘rapid casting.’ Of course, because steps are skipped, the magical effect and power displayed are certainly not as good as magic released through the normal process.”

Leo pressed further, “Then the trick you used to blow away my water ball trap when you opened the door, and the one you used to blow away the smoke just now—were those also rapid casting?”

“Yes, those were all rapid casting,” Ian nodded.

Leo still felt like he didn’t understand. “And? You still haven’t clearly explained what chantless casting is.”

Ian’s expression became serious. “So-called chantless casting occurs when a caster reaches an ultimate understanding of a specific spell. During meditation, they have repeated the circuit construction of that spell tens of thousands, or even 100,000 times.”

“They do it until the spell follows their thoughts and becomes almost an extension of their consciousness. A single thought can trigger an instantaneous release. That is chantless casting.” Ian paused, his tone tinged with emotion.

Leo listened blankly and blurted out, “Then, Ian, how many chantless spells do you know?”

Ian spread his hands very honestly. “Not a single one.”

Leo was first stunned, then he slapped his thigh and laughed heartlessly. “Hahaha! After all that boasting and making it sound so amazing, it turns out you can’t even do it yourself. I thought you were so great, but you’re just average after all.”

Ian didn’t get angry. He calmly corrected him, “Just because one cannot use chantless casting doesn’t mean they aren’t an excellent caster.”

“Chantless casting only means that the caster has an extraordinary understanding of a single specific spell. In fact, you could say it’s a sign of extreme overspecialization.”

Leo rolled his eyes, his curiosity piqued again. “Then… if I were to compare you and that woman, who would be stronger?”

Ian rubbed his chin, seemingly performing a serious evaluation. “Based on her current performance, it’s hard to see where her magical ceiling is. But considering she is a demi-human and a maid, her magical abilities might not be exceptional.”

“What really needs to be watched out for is the melee capability brought by her demi-human physical strength. Taking everything into account, if we kept our distance and fought head-on…”

Ian pushed his glasses up confidently, his voice calm yet certain. “The winner would be me.”

Hearing this, Leo felt much better.

‘So she’s just overspecialized and isn’t good at actual combat magic…’

Leo whispered to himself, his eyes suddenly lighting up. “Hey! How about I arrange a duel between you and her? You can give her a proper reality check for me.”

Leo’s mind began to wander into a fantasy. That woman, who was cold all day and never looked at him properly, would be soundly defeated by Ian, her face filled with the humiliated expression of failure. The thought of that scene was quite entertaining.

“I refuse.”

Ian’s answer was short and crisp.

He stood up and slowly straightened his clothes. “As a gentleman, bullying a maid who does odd jobs is not a feat of honor worth bragging about.”

Seeing this, Leo felt like a deflated balloon. “Tch, what a buzzkill! Since you won’t fight, hurry up and leave my room. My after-class free time belongs to me now.”

Ian laughed softly and picked up the book on the table. “Alright then, I won’t disturb your precious free time, Young Master.”

After saying that, Ian bowed slightly and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

The room suddenly became quiet.

Leo sat alone in his chair with his legs crossed, his mind racing.

‘If Ian can beat that woman…’ Leo rubbed his chin, the corners of his mouth gradually curling up into a wild grin.

‘And Ian has suffered so many losses under my traps and schemes… If I do the math, doesn’t that mean I also have a chance to defeat her?’

Right, I am a genius Mage!

As long as the tactics are used correctly, the advantage is mine.

With that thought, Leo’s self-confidence swelled once again, and he was eager to try. He had already begun to calculate how to set up a new, perfect trap.

Just wait and see…